Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 155775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 779(@200wpm)___ 623(@250wpm)___ 519(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 779(@200wpm)___ 623(@250wpm)___ 519(@300wpm)
Cash simply grunted.
“Right, let me find the stuff that I’m looking for.” Hack started pulling some things from his big black bag. It was the biggest doctor’s bag she’d ever seen, and she started to see why with all the things that he had in it.
First he pulled out what looked to be a hammer. It was pink and had a glittery handle. Next, he drew out a rubber duck. It was floppy and had a ridiculously long neck. What on earth was that for?
The next crazy thing was a large plastic needle that was blue and yellow and had a bedazzled handle. What did that do? There was no way you could give somebody an injection with that. It was all plastic. It looked like something a five-year-old might play with.
What was all this stuff?
“What is this?” she asked through the tablet.
“Oh these are my doctory thingies. Except for this fellow. This is Doctor Duckie. Do you like him? Smart guy, but he had an accident a while back and it left him with this really long neck. He’s a bit self-conscious about it, so only say nice things.”
All right. The duck looked like a dog toy. Were those actual teeth marks in it? If it wasn’t for a dog then who the heck had put those teeth marks there, and why?
“Do you want Snaggles?” Cash suddenly asked her.
She nodded. Yeah, she really did now that she didn’t have to worry about hiding her Little. Hack had a way of putting her at ease. Cash grabbed her soft toy, handing him to her.
“Oh, that’s a good-looking saber-toothed tiger,” Hack told her. “Got some nice, sharp teeth on him. Now, I’m looking for something in particular. Where is it? Ah, here it is. This is my treasure box. Good girls and boys that let me check them over get to choose something from my treasure box when they’ve been brave. Do you think you can be brave?”
Addie shrugged. Bravery wasn’t her strong suit. Maybe on the inside she could be. Deep down.
“You got this, baby,” Cash told her as he crouched down next to her and placed his hand on her thigh, squeezing lightly. “I know you can be brave.”
She shot him a look. But she nodded, determined to try.
“Phew, that’s good,” Hack said as he wiped his brow. “Because I have some awesome treasure in here, and I would hate it to go to waste. Let’s start by opening your mouth, okay?”
Addie opened her mouth, and he used the light to take a look, placing one of those horrible-tasting sticks on her tongue. Only this one wasn’t horrible-tasting. In fact, it kind of tasted like sugar, and it nearly started to melt in her mouth.
“Oh, shoot. I’ve used the wrong sort of sticky-mi-jiggy. Do you think you can eat the rest of it? It’s made of sugar. Could you do me that favor?” he asked.
Sure, she could make that sacrifice for him. She took the stick and started to eat it. It was really quite delicious and it wasn’t long until it was all gone.
“Right. Well, your throat looks inflamed and sore. You don’t feel sick at all? No aches and pains?” She shook her head and he took her temperature. “No fever. That’s good.”
Next, he looked in both of her ears and felt her glands. “You don’t use your voice a lot, right?”
Addie glanced back at Cash and then grabbed the tablet so she could type out a message to Hack.
“When I get anxious, my throat closes up and it’s hard to get words out. It’s difficult to explain, and I’ve been anxious a lot these last few days with everything going on. Plus, I’m away from my stuff, my safe place. Back home, I don’t say a lot because I don’t really interact with that many people.”
Part of her couldn’t believe she’d just told him all of that.
“So you’re doing a lot more talking. Have you done any yelling lately? Did you notice when your throat started to get sore?”
She nodded. “When those men attacked us to get Crystal. I yelled a lot and it really hurt after. Then I was yelling again at the airport when those other men were after us.”
“I think you have irritated your throat,” he said. “I don’t think there’s been any permanent damage, but you need to just lay off talking for maybe another twenty-four hours. Once the redness and irritation goes down, then ease into talking more. No yelling, though. Stay hydrated. Hot honey drinks are good, but if it hasn’t stopped hurting in a few days we might need to send you to a specialist.”
She nodded.
“You’ve been through a lot these past few days, it’s okay to take some time to decompress and heal.” His voice was gentle, and she couldn’t stop the tears that formed in her eyes.